Word on the street — er, parkway — is that contractors are not the only ones to blame for long delays on the Merritt North Avenue bridge reconstruction project.
Temporary scaffolding enables workers to access the under-bridge areas. Because this reduces the clearance, a warning sensor detects when a vehicle has ignored signs on the roadway. Workers have 15 seconds to scramble off the scaffolding.
Since the scaffolding was erected in mid-June, it has been hit and damaged 9 times. Each time, it must be removed and repaired. This of course slows down the work.
Scaffolding underneath the Merritt Parkway bridge — shown here at North Avenue last month — has been struck 9 times since mid-June.
Work is also slowed when the alarm goes off, but a vehicle does not strike the scaffolding. Crews still bail out. I’m sure that when they get back on, they’re not in the best frame of mind to work.
Interestingly, all of the hits to the scaffold have been southbound.
This seems to be one time that Westport drivers are not the ones screwing up.
Unless, of course, they’re driving too-high vehicles headed to Exit 42.